Cabinet and sliding doors therefor



Juiy 3, 1956 c. E. SPRING 2,753,236

CABINET AND SLIDING DOORS THEREFOR Filed Feb. 15, 1953 IIUJffiLOZ" gwri g and/3g, 4 @ficawb; C 4

United States Patent CABINET AND SLIDING DOORS THEREFOR Carl E. Spring, Worth, 11]., assignor to Leitner Equipment Company, a corporation of Illinois This invention relates to sliding doors for cabinets and is particularly concerned with a new manner of mounting sliding doors in the front of the cabinet that will facilitate keeping the cabinet clean.

Heretofore, in cabinets provided with sliding doors, the doors have been mounted in tracks at the front edge of the floor of the cabinet. It is a practical impossibility to keep the floor of such cabinets clean because dirt accumulates between the tracks, and the space between the tracks is too narrow and deep to permit effective cleaning. This condition is particularly unsatisfactory in restaurants or other establishments where food products are kept in the cabinets and cleanliness is of especial im portance.

In accordance with this invention, the bottom tracks for the sliding doors have been eliminated, and the floor of the cabinet is smooth throughout its entire area so that it may be kept clean without difiiculty. The bottom edges of the doors have a rolling contact with the floor of the cabinet and are guided along their lower edges by pins which extend upwardly from the floor and are positioned in alignment. The upper edges of the doors slide in tracks which keep them aligned properly and provide sufficient vertical clearance to permit the doors to be mounted quickly and easily for sliding movement.

The present invention also contemplates the insertion of doors in old cabinets. In cabinets having an intermediate shelf, for example, a door may be mounted to close only the space between the shelf and either the top or bottom of the cabinet, with the rest of the cabinet front open.

The structure by means of which the above and other advantages of the invention are attained will be described in detail in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet having sliding doors embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of one of the sliding doors;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view, on an enlarged scale, showing one of the rollers mounted adjacent the bottom of the door; and

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view, showing one of the sliding doors being mounted adjacent the front of the cabinet.

Referring to the drawings, the cabinet has a back wall 2, a pair of side walls 3, a bottom 4, a top wall 5, and an open front. The front edge of bottom 4 is bent upwardly, as indicated at 6, and then inwardly to form a floor 7 for the cabinet. The top wall 5 extends downwardly, as indicated at 8, and then inwardly to form an upper portion 9. Parallel recessed tracks 10 are formed in portion 9. Side walls 3 are extended inwardly to form front panels 11 which cooperate with the panels 6 and 8 to define the open front of the cabinet.

2,753,236 Eatented July 3, 1956 The tracks 10 may be formed in any suitable manner and have sufficient height to facilitate mounting of doors 12, 13 at the front of the cabinet. Tracks 10 are substantially the same width as the thickness of the door fitting therein, so the door may slide freely without any undue play. Each door is slightly longer than half the distance: between the edges 11 so that there is a slight overlap adja cent the center of the cabinet when both doors are in closed position.

A plurality of pins 14, preferably three in number, are mounted on the floor 7 in alignment. The pins are spaced apart substantially the thickness of the tracks 10, and are secured in any suitable manner, as by nuts 15. The pins are preferably located in the area defined by the overlapping portions of the doors in closed position so that each door is constantly in engagement with two of the pins. Each pin preferably has a rotatable sleeve 16 mounted thereon to provide rolling contact with doors 12 and 13. It is manifest that additional pins may be mounted on the floor to serve as guides, particularly where longer doors are employed.

Each door has a plurality of rollers 17 rotatably mounted in brackets 18 secured to the lower edges 19 of each door. The bottom walls of brackets 18 and the lower edges of the doors are provided with aligned openings 2t) and 21, respectively, through which a portion of the. rollers 17 project to engage the surface of the floor 7 upon: which they are adapted to roll. Each door may be pro-- vided with rigid cross braces 22 to prevent warping.

When the doors are mounted in their tracks 10, the

height of each track above the top of each door is greater than the height of pins 14 so that each door may be lifted? in the tracks and swung over the pins 14. Fig. 5 shows; door 13 being so mounted. When the lower edge of the: door is dropped between two adjacent pins 14, the upper) edge is still retained in its track 10. Pins 14 occupy very little space on the floor and it is a simple matter to keep the floor clean. Doors 12 and 13 are each securely held in its track 10 and between two of the pins 14 and this mounting provides for smooth and free sliding movement. of the doors.

Open front cabinets already in service may have doors. added thereto merely by providing the top with tracks and mounting pins 14 on the floor. If such cabinets haveintermediate shelves, the pins 14 may be mounted on the top surface of the shelf so that only the upper portion of the cabinet is closed. If it is desired to close only the lower portion of such cabinet, the pins 141 are mounted on the floor of the cabinet and the tracks 1t) are mounted on the lower surface of the shelf.

Although i have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact details of construction described, except as limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cabinet comprising a top wall, a floor, said top wall having a pair of parallel tracks extending downwardly from the lower surface thereof, said tracks being spaced apart a distance less than the thickness of one track, a pin mounted on said floor in vertical alignment with the space between said tracks, a second pin mounted on said floor forwardly of said first mentioned pin, a third pin mounted on said floor rearwardly of said first mentioned pin, said second and third pin being each spaced from said first mentioned pin a distance substantially equal to the thickness of each of said tracks, and a door having its upper edge slidably mounted in one of said tracks and having rollers projecting below its lower edge to support amee said door in rolling contact with said floor between two of said pins, the thiekne ssof said (1581'- being substantially equal to the thickness of its track, whereby said door is restrained from movement at right angles to the direction Q aid ling m i ment- A ea i et e mpr u a top wall, a o r, said tOP e ha n a Pa o 'pa allcl rac s. e ten g ownwar y from the lower surfaee thereof, three pins mounted in alignment on said floor, each of said pins having a rotatable sleeve mounted thereon, the distance between the sleeves of adjacent pins being substantially equal to the thickness of one of said tracks, and a pair of doors, a plurality of rollers on the bottom edge of each of said doors, each of said doors having its upper edge mounted i1! 05%? 9? said trash? and its lower ed mounted between two of said pins, each of said tracks extending above the upper edge of the door mounted therein a distance greater than the height of said pins, whereby said doors may be swung over the tops of said pins when the upper edges of said doors are pushed upwardly into said track Reesefir s n t fi e of this e UNITED STATES PATENTS 

